Unleashing the Beast Within
by Suicidal Songstress
Summary: "7 years ago, a few months after you guys and Sakura's group were sent off, Orochimaru reclaimed Otogakure. Sasuke and his team mates were captured not so long ago and were thrown in prison. Konoha, Suna and Ame fell immediately to Orochimaru's army. Even Akatsuki was split and went into hiding. No one knows where anyone is" When Orochimaru's conquered all, what's left to hope for?
1. Chapter 1

"Ino, hide!" Shikamaru hissed quietly. Ino scurried to the bushes and didn't dare move. No longer then a few seconds did she have to wait until a group of sound ninja passed by. Tenten, Kiba and Kankuro were out with her and Shikamaru as well. Once they were gone, Ino came out.

"That was a close one" Tenten said.

"You said it" Kiba said, nodding.

"Alright we all good?" Kankuro asked. They all nodded. Ino held a basket of mulberries, Tenten held oranges, Kiba and Kankuro held large boars and Shikamaru held five rabbits.

"Alright. Let's head back to the others" Shikamaru said. The others nodded before heading North East. Ino got lost in her thoughts.

A lot of things had changed in 5 years. Orochimaru-in Kabuto's body-reclaimed Otogakure and threw Sasuke, Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo in a prison in Iwagakure. Once they were dealt with, Orochimaru was quick to send most of his secret experiments to destroy the Akatsuki. They split to escape but then he turned his sights on Konoha and Suna. He sent his army and they went down in a total of 24 days. Many ninjas were killed but a fair bit escaped, hiding civilians and fellow injured ninjas. Tsunade had sent a messenger bird to Suna to warn them and according to Kankuro, once they got the message, they quickly evacuated the people, knowing that they'd go down twice as fast as their ally. The world was filled with fear and hate and the only one to blame was Orochimaru. All his enemies were eliminated and the others didn't know who was alive or not.

"Stop falling behind Ino" Kiba called from in front of her.

Ino looked up and rushed to catch up.

The thing that worried her the most was that Tsunade had sent Sakura, Neji, Shino, Kurenai and Sai off somewhere a few months earlier and they heard nothing of them since. A month after that, she sent Naruto, Yamato, Genma, Shizune and Hinata off. No one has seen or heard from any of them. They also didn't know where they were headed or why.

"We're here" Tenten announced.

They all landed in front of a rock face. It glared down at them but Ino allowed a small smile. Shikamaru shifted his hands into the 'Sheep' sign and focused chakra in front of him. As he did, the ground a bit in front of them opened up to show a set of rock steps leading into darkness. One by one, they went down. Kiba closed the hidden door behind him. They walked through the hallways, many twists and turns and doors and traps but they knew this place like the back of their hand. Eventually, they stopped at one door. They pulled it open before they entered. They walked across the empty room and pushed it open. Inside was a large group of civilians of about 20. There was also a few ninjas, including Gaara and Lee. They laid down their food supply and some of the civilians got to work of preparing a meal. Hardly anyone saw Tsunade. Many thought she was mourning and others thought she blamed them. Once the meals were prepared, they all dug in. Ino grabbed two portions and headed to Tsunade who sat in another room.

"Tsunade-sama, I brought you some food" Ino said softly.

Tsunade nodded and Ino walked to her. Ino handed her the food but hesitated to move away from her.

"Is something wrong?" Tsunade asked.

"Forgive me for asking but…I was just wondering, where did you send Naruto, Sakura and the others?" Ino asked.

Tsunade's eyes widened. "Of course!" She whispered, eyes shining up with hope. "Ino!" She shouted.

"Yes Tsunade-sama?" Ino asked, standing straight.

"Gather Naruto and Sakura's friends. I'm talking about Rookies and Sand Sibs. Then I want you to head to the Valley of the Dead. Naruto is inside the waterfall. Then he will lead you to Sakura" Tsunade said.

Ino nodded as she took in this information.

"You need to go as soon as possible. Leave tonight" Ino nodded again as she walked out.

She grabbed each of the friends within the group. Tenten, Kankuro, Shikamaru, Lee, Kiba and Gaara stood to the side as Ino explained everything to them.

"Do you really thing they can help us?" Tenten asked. "They've been missing for 5 years. For all we know, Naruto and Sakura could be dead."

"No. Tsunade-sama wouldn't just send us off if there was a possibility it would be all for nothing and risk losing a lot of valued ninja's" Ino argued.

"What do you think Shikamaru?" Kiba asked.

Shikamaru was deep in thought before he nodded. "Ino's right. We may be going through hard times now but Tsunade would not place so much if there was even a doubt in her mind that this was pointless" Shikamaru said.

Kankuro, Lee, Gaara, Tenten and Kiba nodded their agreement. They were in.

"Alright then. Let's do this. We gotta go to the Valley of the Dead. Apparently that's where Naruto is" Ino said.

They nodded and headed out after grabbing items they'd need.

* * *

A week later, they were close to arriving at their destination. Being so far south took time. The severe storms and raging waters became major obstacles for their journey but they were almost there. They were a few miles from the Valley of the Dead and stopped to rest.

"To say the way here was easy would be a lie if I ever told one" Kiba said.

The others all nodded. Ino, who hated being out in the rain and wearing wet clothes was quiet which surprised them all. Normally she's be nagging them day in, day out about how sore her feet were or is she was hungry or even that her hair was ruined. But she was silent the whole time travelling, only speaking if spoken to or if it was important.

"Okay. You guys ready to keep going?" Kankuro asked.

Everyone nodded. They continued on and soon landed on Uchiha Madara's statue head, looking over the scene.

"So this is the place Naruto and Sasuke fought 7 years ago…" Kiba stated.

Ino said nothing as she jumped down Madara's head to his shoulders, hands then running down his leg to the ground. The others looked at each other before following after her.

They all stared up at the roaring water as it pounded into the river.

"So how do we-" Kiba was cut off when Ino jumped straight through the falling water.

"Jeez." Shikamaru sighed before he followed after and the others came too.

They landed outside a large iron door.

"What do we do?" Kiba asked.

Tenten knocked. Everyone looked at her like she was insane. When the door opened, they all turned to it at the same time. There, in the middle of the door, was a hooded figure. They were small and female.

"Tsunade-sama sent us here. We're here to get Naruto, Shizune, Hinata, Genma and Yamato" Ino spoke. "Then, Naruto is to lead us to Sakura, Neji, Shino, Sai and Kurenai"

"Butterfly" The woman spoke.

Another person wearing a cloak appeared next to her, head bowed also so no one could see her face. Without a word, Butterfly placed her hands into a hand sign. She gasped.

"It's safe Wolf" She said. Wolf nodded before they both raised their heads and pulled off their hoods. They gasped.

"Hinata? Shizune?" Tenten wondered.

They smiled. They were pale due to not being in the sun in so long.

"Why were you guys sent here?" Ino asked.

"We were hiding Naruto. Tsunade-sama told us that something bad was going to happen and she wanted us to hide Naruto" Shizune said. "What about you?"

"Something bad did happen" Tenten said sadly.

"5 years ago" Kiba added.

"What's happened?" Hinata asked.

"We'll explain once the others are here" Shikamaru said.

They were led deeper inside. They soon came to a cage. Inside was Naruto, sleeping. Around it were the others they were looking for.

"Well, what's this? I'm happy we have visitors" Genma said, a flirtatious smirk on his face.

One he sent to Ino. When Ino didn't even blink, his smile fell.

"This is no joyful visit. Something horrible has gone down" Ino said.

"What's happened?" Yamato asked.

"Wake Naruto first. I don't wanna explain more then I have to" Ino said.

Hinata walked into the cage and stood next to Naruto. She performed a bunch of hand seals before touching his forehead.

He had been in a Genjutsu enforced sleep. His eyes fluttered open and he took in everyone's look. Hinata wore her hair up in a mid pony tail with her fringe out. Shizune kept hers short and Ino had cut hers short as not to be easily recognised. This came as a huge shock to Naruto.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked. "Has it been 10 years already?" He asked, smiling but when he saw the haunted look on most of their faces, it fell. "If not, then why was I awoken early. Tsunade-baa-chan told me I'd be woken up when 10 years passed or if-" His eyes widened in horror.

"I'm sorry but we wish we weren't here either" Gaara said.

"What happened?" Naruto asked.

"7 years ago, a few months after you guys and Sakura's group were sent off, Orochimaru reclaimed Otogakure. Sasuke and his team mates were captured not so long ago and were thrown in prison. Konoha, Suna and Ame fell immediately to Orochimaru's army. Even Akatsuki was split and went into hiding. No one knows where anyone is and many are too scared to even go looking because Orochimaru has his men running around, seizing anyone that doesn't wear an Iwa, Oto or Kumo headband"

"What of Jirayia?" Naruto asked.

"Jirayia has disappeared. We don't know what's happened to him" Kiba said.

Naruto scowled.

"You have to take us to Sakura. Tsunade-sama thinks you and Sakura can save the world from this turmoil"

Naruto frowned.

"Alright. Let's go then" Naruto said as he got up.

They left the cave and Naruto bathed in the river as he looked into the water at his reflection. His hair was unruly and wild. He looked a lot like his father. After bathing, Kiba gave him a pair of black shorts and a black singlet. Naruto nodded before dressing behind a bush. Naruto then lead them East, towards Konoha.

A few days later…

"Stop!" Hinata exclaimed.

Everyone stopped and dove for a hiding place. Most got ready for battle.

"Guys, it's a group lead by Kakashi-sensei. Gai-sensei, Temari, Iruka-sensei, Anko-san, Choji and Ibiki-san are with him"

"Temari!" Kankuro exclaimed.

They all stood and waited. When they jumped into view they all paused.

"Kankuro! Gaara!" Temari exclaimed.

Kankuro ran to her and grabbed her in a hug.

"You're alright! I'm so glad you're okay" Kankuro murmured.

Temari hugged him back. When he let her go, she hugged Gaara.

"Where have you been hiding?" Kiba asked.

"We were deep in Bird" Anko said. "Fucking Snake chased us off"

"Why were you guys headed North East? That's the direction Iwa is" Shikamaru said.

Iruka looked at Kakashi nervously.

"We-uh…" Iruka hesitated.

"Oto has announced that Sasuke and his team are to be executed in a few days" Kakashi said.

Naruto froze as did a few others.

"Apparently, Orochimaru sees them as too much of a threat to leave alive. So he's planning on executing them publicly to deflate any hopes or thoughts of revolution or rebellion" Anko said.

"Why wait so long to execute them? They were caught years ago."

"There were no attempts to help them escape until recently. He doesn't want to risk it."

"We have to go save him!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto, we have our mission" Kiba said.

"So what? We just leave him there to die?!" Naruto yelled.

"Tsunade-sama said-"

"Stop!" They all looked to the person it came from.

Ino.

* * *

They looked at Ino who looked at them harshly.

"Ino, I know you really want to get to Sakura but-" Naruto stopped when Ino shot him a glare.

"Of course I want to get Sakura as soon as possible" Ino cut in.

"So then let's-" She didn't let Kiba finish either.

"But I also know that if Sakura knew that we sacrificed Sasuke to release her, she'd blame herself" Ino said. "For Sakura, we need to save Sasuke or at least try to" Ino said.

She convinced the others and they agreed. They took off North West, towards Iwa only Ibiki, Anko and Iruka headed towards the place Tsunade and the others were once they told them were it was located.

* * *

A few days later…

"Yeah! Cut off his head!" Some of the Orochimaru's faithful ninja's yelled.

Sasuke was pushed down to his knees. His hands were tied behind him with chakra ropes but still they had three men holding him down. Another stood just in front with a sword, ready to behead him. Sasuke still struggled but it was pointless. His team mates struggled behind him, trying to get free as well.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you and your team mates have been charged with treason against Lord Orochimaru. You are here to be executed so our lord no longer has to worry about you" The executioner said before raising his sword.

* * *

"Go!" Kakashi yelled and they all sprang into action.

* * *

Sasuke closed his eyes as the sword came down. When he heard screams from the crowd, he looked up and his eyes widened in disbelief and shock. In front of him…

…was Itachi.


	2. Chapter 2

"The hell?!" Naruto exclaimed as he landed next to Itachi. He was about to save Sasuke's life when Itachi appeared out of no where.

"I-Itachi?" Sasuke asked, eyes wide.

"Get him out of here, Naruto-san" Itachi ordered, still blocking the executioner's sword with his own.

Naruto nodded and broke the chakra ropes. Choji, Lee and Kiba were freeing Suigetsu, Karin and Juugo while Kakashi, Anko, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Ino, Tenten and Shikamaru were holding off the other ninjas. Kisame, Deidara, Sasori and Hidan were also fighting since they were with Itachi.

"Everyone, let's go!" Naruto yelled when he threw Sasuke's arm over his shoulder to support him.

The newly allied groups ran, clearing a path through the crowd of ninja by slaughtering them. Once outside the village, they headed South East. No one spoke. Ino was leading them since the others were either helping someone or securing the area. When someone jumped out in front of them, Ino scowled.

"Get out of my fucking way!" Ino roared as she whipped out a kunai and slashed his throat without another thought, shocking Naruto and Sasuke.

"Ino, what's wrong?" Naruto.

"You _know_ what's wrong. We've wasted enough time going to save Sasuke" Ino said.

"You're the one that called the last shot" Kiba said as he caught up with them.

"Now is not the-" Ino stopped when she saw a group of people up ahead. Not just anyone…

The rest of the Akatsuki.

* * *

"Well, what do we have here?" Pein wondered.

"You…" Naruto growled out.

"We don't have time for this!" Kiba growled.

Kakashi and the others caught up.

"That was fun, yeah?" Deidara said.

"Jashin will enjoy all his sacrifices tonight" Hidan said, nodding.

"I advise we keep moving so as to avoid anymore unnecessary fighting" Itachi said.

"Can you travel without help?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke pulled away and swayed on his feet.

"Sasuke-kun!" Karin cried out.

She pulled away from Kiba and ran to Sasuke. She offered him her arm and Sasuke sunk his teeth into her flesh. Karin cried out in pleasure and they all watched as Sasuke's wounds started healing. Soon, he was all good and pulled away from Karin who was panting.

"That was the most-"

"-disturbing thing I've ever seen" Ino finished for Kankuro.

Karin glared at her.

"Now that Sasuke's better, Naruto, lead the way" Temari said.

Naruto nodded and they took off. Akatsuki had no other choice but to follow.

* * *

A week later…

Yesterday, they entered the forest of death, they were now headed to the middle.

"Why are we in the Forest of Death?" Kiba asked.

"Why are we here?" Suigetsu asked.

"Because the second person to our salvation is here. They can save us" Gaara murmured.

Just then Itachi and Pein stopped moving.

"What is it?" Konan asked.

"We're in a Genjutsu" Pein said.

"A powerful one" Itachi stated. "My Sharingan barely picked up on it" He placed his hands together and released the Genjutsu.

As it disappeared, they noticed someone in front of them wearing a cloak like Hinata and the others.

"So I see it is time" He spoke.

"Shino-kun?" Hinata asked.

The person raised their head and pulled the hood off to reveal Shino. He still wore glasses but his mouth was revealed to them.

"It's good to see you again Hinata" Shino said. "You too Kiba"

"What are you doing here Shino?" Kiba asked.

"I'm here to escort you. Not only are there dangerous animals within this forest but many traps set by myself and the others. One wrong move and you could have been eaten by flesh eating bee's" Shino said.

Some paled. Shino shrugged.

"Let's go" He said before he turned and led them to the tower.

They all entered and found Neji, Sai and Kurenai.

"Neji!" Tenten and Lee yelled.

They tackled him.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Kiba and Hinata exclaimed as they ran to hug her.

"Sai, it's good to see you again" Yamato said.

"Yamato-senpai" Sai acknowledged, smiling.

"So whose this saviour you guys have been talking about?" Suigetsu asked.

"Well one is Naruto, can you guess the other?" Neji asked.

Some of their eyes widened.

"Sakura?" Sasuke asked, unbelieving.

"Correct" Kurenai nodded.

"Well, where is she?" Kankuro asked.

Neji, Sai, Kurenai and Shino moved to make a semi circle around the two large hands at the front of the arena. They placed their hands in the same hand sign and the ground started shaking as the hands moved apart. Between them, rising out of the ground, was a cross. Chained to it, was Sakura.

She was naked and drenched in water. Her head was bowed and her hair blocked her face, running down her body, covering her breasts and womanhood. It was now down to her shins.

"Kai!" The four of them cried out and Sakura slowly started to stir.

Neji drew a few shuriken and threw them at her restraints. As she fell, she flipped and landed crouched before collapsing.

"Sakura!" Ino cried out as she ran to her.

Hinata followed after, removing her cloak and placing it on her. Sakura moaned.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Naruto asked.

"So…hungry…" Sakura murmured.

Ino pulled out some food but Sakura hit it away.

"N-No…I-I need…" Sai knelt down in front of Sakura.

He pulled down his collar.

"Go ahead Ugly. Tsunade-sama spoke to us about your hunger when you were woken. When I start running low, Neji-san will step in" He said.

Sakura stared at his throat which he bore to her without fear or hesitation. Sakura's eyes glowed blue before her canines lengthened. She hesitated before giving in when Sai pushed his neck closer. Sakura opened her mouth and sunk her fangs into Sai's neck, who closed his eyes and sighed. Sakura's arms wound around Sai and she pulled him closer, wrapping her legs around his waist as well.

_More…_

Sakura dug her teeth in further. Sai clenched his teeth in pain.

_**Must have more!**_

Sakura's eyes shot open, her eyes changing back to crystalline green and contracted. She pushed Sai away from her and wrapped her arms around herself, shaking uncontrollably and crawling away from Hinata and the others.

"Sakura-" Ino moved towards Sakura.

"Stay back!" Sakura yelled, her eyes flickering between green and blue. "I-I…It's not safe yet!" Sakura hissed.

She sat leaning against one of the large stone hands. Her hands were tangled in her hair as she gripped her head painfully.

"Quick. Give her the food" Kurenai said.

Shino's bugs entered with a large box filled with fruits, meat and fish. It was placed in front of her. Sakura pulled it closer shakily before she started devouring the food within it. Everyone watched her eat in a mixture of disgust, awe and curiosity. It was finished within a few minutes before Neji stepped forward.

Sakura's eyes watched him warily, no longer glowing but were a shining azure. She was no longer completely starved as she was and was much more approachable then before.

"Sakura, you still need blood. Take mine now" Neji said.

Sakura raised a hand to her mouth nervously.

"Neji…" she started but Neji shook his head.

"No, we were warned of this and agreed nonetheless. You won't lose control since you are no longer starved when you first started feeding" Neji soothed.

"Please…I don't want to hurt you…" Sakura pleaded.

Neji gave her a kind smile.

"Don't worry about me. We have plenty of people here to stop you if it comes to that but…" He paused. "But I trust you"

Sakura's eyes widened. He moved forward and bared his neck to her. Sakura slowly held onto him as she sunk her teeth gently into his neck, piercing his artery. Blood flooded her mouth and Sakura took the time to enjoy the thick, rich, life substance as it flowed effortlessly down her throat.

How easy it would be to not stop and kill him.

Sakura released his neck from her jaws but did not release him. Instead, she licked his wounds and closed the bite marks. After a minute of licking his neck, she let him go. Neji dazedly stood, Tenten supporting him. Sakura slowly stood. Kurenai came forward with clothing. Sakura nodded thankfully. She walked to the bathroom and changed before coming back out. She wore a pink kimono with purple trimmings and shimmering purple cherry blossoms going up her right side from the left and stopping just below her hips. The kimono was floor length and had long sleeves that his her hands. She saw everyone had their headbands off so she removed hers. She held it in her hand which started glowing blue but not from chakra. It was a blue flame. The cloth of the headband instantly disintegrated and the metal was left in her hand, only liquefied. Sakura closed her eyes and clenched her fist, moving her fingers only slightly. It looked like she was grinding a stone in her hand. When the blue flame disappeared, she opened her hand and looked down at the small Konoha symbol she made. It was attacked to a thin, delicate metal chain. Sakura smiled and put it on. The Konoha symbol flashed in the light against her collar bone. It was high enough that the kimono did nothing to block it.

Sakura turned back to everyone else and took in their appearance before nodding to herself.

"From your appearance and everyone here, I am assuming something happened during my absence" Sakura said.

Naruto nodded. "Sakura-chan, Orochimaru has taken over. He's destroyed Konoha, Suna and Ame. Even the Akatsuki had to split up" Naruto said.

Sakura looked over at the Akatsuki's that joined them.

"So the time has come," Sakura said sadly but smiled at Sasuke. "At least Tsunade-sama was right about Sasuke-kun," she added.

"What about Sasuke?" Ino asked. "Tsunade didn't mention anything about Sasuke."

"Just think. You saw what I did and you know what Naruto has. How do _you_ think Sasuke is involved?" Sakura asked.

"Monsters?" Deidara asked.

Everyone glared at him.

"Naruto-kun isn't a monster and neither is Sakura-chan," Hinata objected.

"Can't say the same about Sasuke though," Kiba spoke out loud.

Naruto barked out in laughter and Sakura giggled.

"So what's the plan?" Ino asked.

Sakura smiled ruefully.

"Fight beast with beasts."


End file.
